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Obama Lays Out Ethics Rules

President-elect Barack Obama today released a series of ethics guidelines for those working in the transition operation, a continuation of the anti-lobbying policies adopted by the Illinois Senator during his primary and general election campaigns.

The ethics rules -- no federal lobbyist can raise or contribute money for the transition efforts, no one who has lobbied in the last 12 months can advise the transition on the policy area on which they lobbied, no one involved in the policy work of the transition can lobby on that issue for a calendar year -- were announced by transition co-chair John Podesta during a press briefing for reporters this afternoon. (Full details of the Obama ethics plan for the transition are after the jump.)

Podesta cast the new ethics rules as a leading indicator of what he termed "the most open and transparent transition in history." Podesta added that members of the transition team will sign an ethics code laying out the specific principles announced today.

Asked about reports of tension between President George W. Bush and Obama in their meeting Monday, Podesta demurred, saying only that it was a "private meeting" in which the auto industry as well as plans for an economic recovery package were raised.

"While the topic of Colombia came up, there was no quid pro quo," Podesta asserted. He added that the relations between the current White House and the Obama transition teams have been "collegial" and "cooperative".

Podesta said that Obama had no plans to meet with any of the world leaders coming to town for the G20 gathering this weekend and aimed at addressing the global economic crisis. The President-elect will send an emissary to the meetings but Podesta would not offer any names as to the identity of that liaison.

As for the nuts and bolts of the transition itself, Podesta said that the budget was approximately $12 million with $5.2 million of that coming in appropriations from Congress. The remaining $6.8 million will be raised by the transition operation, according to Podesta.

The total transition staff will reach approximately 450 individuals, said Podesta, adding that beginning Monday a top to bottom review of every government agency would begin in an effort to insure "we hit the ground running on Jan. 20 because we don't have a moment to lose."

Podesta offered few specifics about the naming of Cabinet officials other than to indicate that the announcements would likely be made by Obama in Chicago. As for White House senior staff, those announcements "will come out as they are ready to be announced."

Obama Ethics Rules

* Federal Lobbyists cannot contribute financially to the transition.

* Federal lobbyists are prohibited from any lobbying during their work with the transition.

* If someone has lobbied in the last 12 months, they are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied.

* If someone becomes a lobbyist after working on the Transition, they are prohibited from lobbying the Administration for 12 months on matters on which they worked.

* A gift ban that is aggressive in reducing the influence of special interests.

As it is obvious to all that president Obama has a huge task waiting for him with our financial problems not only as a country but now as a whole it seems like we may be forgetting other issues this world has as well. Global hunger is getting worse and their may be a less difficult way of looking at the problem. The solution may be the Global Poverty Act. This act will be looked at in December. This act is something that Obama has before been an advocate to. The Borgen Project an organization that is working to get this act passed as well. To learn more go to www.borgenproject.org.

In response to: Nisey01,
Nothing changes for those of us who didn't support Obama, unless those who did support him continue in their same culture. Obama will be a success if he can motivate you to get a job and be responsible for yourselves.

I have a job and is a single parent of four averaging over 60 k, and no doubt before now I adhered to most of the principles and policies before now of those of the elect president Barack Obama. I understand your point and I know that Obama will serve well in the upbringing of the majority of Americans that have backed him and maybe for some that didn't back him. There are no limits to achieve and succeed if you want to make a change. With the elected Obama, I foresee a healthy tranformation and a triumphant victory for the majority of people worldwide in expose to the last few years and preferably the last four centuries. God Bless America!

The last administration tried mightily to make government work with Religion and the union of the two was a disaster for this country. The First Amendment is very clear about the separation of church and state. I hope the religiously inclined will consider these facts when then lobby the government or give their add hoc hommilies. Not all of us sympathise with you or support the intrusion of some of your religious beliefs into our attempts at a pluralistic dialogue. Your attempts to marginalise minority religions, atheists, gays, and believers in secular governance has caused an uprising of resentment against religious fundamentalism and intolerance.

Mr.President elect: It is my duty as a person who gave you unwavering support by dint of hard and compelling

work during very difficult times in a very difficult state along with the emails sent to the "emails clearing

house" I now give you a word of caution because you are a man who listens to what is said to you and act on

the wisdom of God yourself and others whom you confide in.

Mr.President Elect,it is not wise to hold an Inaugural Ball in the manner of your predecessor,the current

President of the United States,Mr.George W.Bush ( a man whom I have the greatest of respect for as a

person) and whom I do honestly believe has the greatest respect for you and your family because he is such a

man by his very nature and upbringing.

You have a war of three fronts and America faces severe economic problems as the people whom you are

going serve and serve them well I do believe faces many,many,problems hence it is not within your principles

and nature to have a " grand Inaugural Ball " while your soldiers ( as Commander In Chief) are at war facing a

dangerous and determined and ruthless enemy who seek to do us harm.

It is my humble suggestion,Mr.President Elect,that you hold a simple ceremony and invite as many of the

injured troops and their families as you can and as many of the families of the troops who have made the

Ultimate Sacrifice for America and set aside the usual ceremony as you remember the words of a great and

loyal soldier of ancient times and I quote his very words from the Bible " Second Book of Samuel Verse (11):

" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" " Unquote

So Mr.President,The Commander in Chief and the Cabinet and family should not be seen as ," celebrating in the

White House " while your Troopers are placing their lives on the line for America!

Let the Celebrating be for their families and the children shall eat and drink as their parents hence your

Inauguration MR.President shall be devoid of alcohol etc because you are a President of the people for the

people place in office by the people and we do believe you shall never flinch from doing and saying the right

NOOO no one ever said during the campaign that Obama ever flirted with terrorists....

NOO not our precious Obama who can do no wrong in the eyes of the liberal media.

Hamas Claims Secret Relationship with Obama Aides

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Hamas is claiming close and ongoing ties with America's upcoming Obama Administration, according to a report published Tuesday in the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat. The relationship was kept under wraps until after the U.S. elections so as not to harm Obama’s election prospects. The U.S. has classified Hamas a terrorist organization.

The London-based publication interviewed Gaza-based political chief Ahmad Yousuf, advisor to Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas regime in Gaza, which seized power in a bloody coup d’etat in 2007. Yousuf declared that Hamas has been in regular contact with President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers for months.

"We were in contact with a number of Obama's aides through the internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza," the Hamas official was quoted as saying, "but they advised us not to come out with any statements, as that may have had a negative effect on his election campaign

Okay, a purely partisan post. Having read several posts from what can be labeled sore losers or, maybe more finely tuned as losers, I have this one question.

Having named several democrats as possessing questionable ethics I wonder if the 46 or so republican office holders and political appointees convicted of pedophilia and other sex crimes represents a core value of the ethics of the far right.

"Our elected officials (and their staffs) shouldn't *NEED* ethics rules written down. They should already know what is right, wrong, or somewhere in between, and act accordingly."

Posted by: OrlandoNative

You might like to think that they should know however, with the excesses of the last 8 years of immorality, ethical vacumn and outright lies, I tend toward my favorite quote by Benjamin Franklin...."the palest ink is clearer than the sharpest memory."

Associated Press Taliban insurgents battling the U.S.-backed Afghan government urged President-elect Barack Obama to change course in U.S. foreign policy and withdraw American troops from both Afghanistan and Iraq

Sorry, the top portion of that post I did was quoting an earlier post. I added the part about cars with diesel engines being able to run on used frying grease. I'm still learning how to "post" on here.

Regarding a bailout plan for US Auto Industry, we must recognize that continuing down the same road of bigger cars and trucks is not going to hold any sway with americans these days. For years, the US Auto Industry declared, "the market demands" bigger cars and trucks. Well this is just so any longer.

IF WE THE PEOPLE are going to fork over tax revenue (a dubious plan), then WE THE PEOPLE must demand fuel efficient cars and trucks. If the US Auto Industry doesn't know how to build fuel efficient cars, the industry ed by: rmorris391 .....should not be in business. We could get started more quickly if the US Auto Industry would offer more DIESEL engines -- you know like in Europe! BMW, Mercedes, VW and others have plenty of efficient diesel powered cars and trucks.
COME ON US AUTO INDUSTRY get with the 21st century.

Not to mention, these vehicles can be customized to run on used frying grease!

37th, I heard Obama was actually the one who built the Pyramids - RIGHT AFTER HE ARRIVED FROM OUTER SPACE SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS AGO! And he is now watching you from a secret camera he has installed in a tracking device which follows your every move... no, don't ask me where it is. I don't know. His alien technologies are beyond the understanding of most humans, you MOST DEFINITELY included. He did let on to me that it was him - Obama himself! - who offed Jimmy Hoffa, but he's not buried in Giants' Stadium. That's a myth. But all that aside, everything will be space-age and forward-looking from now on. Here - it's all in this book he sent along for you to read describing his personal philosphy.

Clever fellow that I am, I see little future in a geographic ideology which tries to convince voters that all politicians from Alaska and Idaho are virtuous and all politicians from Chicago, New York, and any city in California are vicious.

This is exactly why we elected Obama. It is so refreshing to see these things already being put in place. This particular reform wasn't promised during the election. It is voluntary and reflects a mindset of reform.
Obama has the potential to clean up. It is essential if Obama is going to lift public confidence in the presidency and win support for his initiatives.
Understand that if lobbyists are allowed to influence the transition process, the whole system would be compromised.
These are hard times and we need solutions. The old business of corporate influence is what drove the economy into the ground. AIG, Lehman Brothers were the best the corporate world had to offer and look what they did. Obama is getting off to a good start.
I want our president to succeed because it may be the difference between whether or not we will.

treetopflyer wrote, "37thOSt - Sounds like you're really on to something. No records in Hawaii, no records in Kenya..."

Yeah, and all those pre-election polls giving Obama a lead were fabricated by pro-Obama media. All right thinking Limbaugh listeners knew perfectly well to ignore those polls and believe that McCain had this thing in the bag.

The saying "a penny for your thoughts" would be severely overcharging in the case of 37'th.

The word is that the document produced by Obama is the same document given out by the State of Hawaii for births in the United States as well as to record births to US Citizens abroad. So the document produced does NOT prove that Obama was born in the United States.

Obama will have to show a real birth certificate and perhaps release which hospital in which he was born and attempt to get some medical records.

I heard that Joe Biden's operatives are investigating this situation and have come up with no proof of Obama's birth in the State of Hawaii -

Otherwise they say Obama would have produced hospital records long ago.

They have two people in Keyna seeing if they can find records there - however the records are not preserved like here in the United States. Joe Biden is said to be prepared to confront Obama if any paperwork turns up - and even if the investigators believe that there is no evidence of Obama being born in any hospital in Hawaii.

As an Obamacrat (some 5,000 blogs and posts since the beginning of the year) and the 2001 winner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel's "Public Servant Award," the first ever given to a national security whistleblower, I know President-elect Obama will put whistleblower rights high on his list of ethics priorities.

Happily, "trusting government" has never been a virtue among students of democracy (treasury bills aside ;) Didn't someone say that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance? They were certainly referring to vigilance on the part of citizens suspicious of their government, not vigilance on the part of government suspicious of its citizens.

Somehow, during the past eight years, Republicans ended up on the wrong end of that saying, claiming more and more secrecy for their government, and more and more powers to spy on its citizens.

So by all means, let us not *trust* our president elect.

As for me, I will continue to hope for great things from him. But trust? No. My hope is a direct response to Mr. Obama, and my lack of trust is no reflection on him, it's just my view of how democracy works best.

Then he'll get down to business and prove to all you Limpbaugh ditherheads that a name's just a name. Or maybe he'll make your nightmares come true and throw you all into jihadist reeducation camp. Oh, boy, you're for it! Run, RUUUNNNNN, you counterrevolutionary bourgeois capitalist jackals, flee for your lives before the wrath of the people's righteous jihadist socialist revanchist dressing world martyrdom REVOLUTION!!!!

Nothing changes for those of us who didn't support Obama, unless those who did support him continue in their same culture. Obama will be a success if he can motivate you to get a job and be responsible for yourselves.

Mark my words this won't be the last assault on 1st amendment gaurantees, but is only the first attempt at trashing our Constitutionally protected rights and priviledges. The Left has setup our government as a workplace for "lobbyist" in areas of environmental protection, housing and urban development, education, homeland security, and such where rules and regulations are made without oversight by our elected representatives. With the Left providing insider jobs for advocates of cetain special interests, we "the people" are being banned from petitioning our government concerning our special interests. It's impossible to have a free nation under an expensive government.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

We the people of America needs to unite on one accord and work together in adhering to principles and policies recommended by our elect President Obama that we may together help in solving some of our critical measures at present. Further pulling apart only distracts and add more problems. We need solutions not more problems, so let's in all efforts adhere to a more productive protocol that we may move forward on a positive note.

What's the difference between individual homeowners facing foreclosure writing letters to the president explaining their plight and urging action in their behalf, and representatives of an industry doing the same thing?

If you really think "lobbying" is a bad thing, isn't your ideal political world one in which no constituent is allowed to express an opinion to a member of government except for the vote they cast in the polling booth?

I see that you are siding with your boyfreind officermancuso. Im sorry same sex marrage did not work out for you guys in California. Yes I dont understand the word Warren Buffet. However I do understand the word " your gay". Anyways what time is it there in France?

See the problem here is that you liberal, country hating hippies dont know what the word sacrafice means no longer. Your like oh the Auto industry this the economy that. You are all babies. And I hate you.

then maybe he could move on to disallowing two entire states their right to a reVote becase doing so favored him?

or maybe we could go with his promise to produce his medical records before elecition.

we can then move on down to the phony birth certificate he displayed on his website but then refused to produce the physical hard copy of the Courts when asked to do so?

how about hte LIE that he hardly knew william ayers, or khalidi?

remember that lie he told Jews in Florida that his knowledge of Khalidi was because Khalidi was simply someone who taugt at the school?

he forgot to mention that Khalidi's wife prepared meals regularly for he and michelle and that she often babysat the obama children. ... and yes, he forgot he GAVE speech for Khalidi and bragged how well they knew each other.

obama and ethics is like putting your trust in Satan to make nice because satan said, "trust me..."

Nothing has convinced me more on the wisdom of my voting to help elect Obama than the level of "reasoned discourse", exhibited here and elsewhere on the net by his opponents. It went on before November 4th and I'm sure we are going to be reading this ignorant ranting for the next 4 years.

And to those of you in that group you might want to explore this question: Why did people with college degrees disproportionately vote Democratic last week.?

I expect to see the usual posts about "Kool-aid" drinkers and "elite college brats" in response to my post.

Regarding a bailout plan for US Auto Industry, we must recognize that continuing down the same road of bigger cars and trucks is not going to hold any sway with americans these days. For years, the US Auto Industry declared, "the market demands" bigger cars and trucks. Well this is just so any longer.

IF WE THE PEOPLE are going to fork over tax revenue (a dubious plan), then WE THE PEOPLE must demand fuel efficient cars and trucks. If the US Auto Industry doesn't know how to build fuel efficient cars, the industry should not be in business. We could get started more quickly if the US Auto Industry would offer more DIESEL engines -- you know like in Europe! BMW, Mercedes, VW and others have plenty of efficient diesel powered cars and trucks.
COME ON US AUTO INDUSTRY get with the 21st century.

birvin9999 said...
"paper thin resumes just don't make it in the long run."

Let's see:

Age 26, unsuccessful run for political office;
Age 28, ran for office, won four two-year terms as a state legislature;
Age 35, ran for Congress, spoke out against a (then) popular war, decided to not run for re-election because of dissension in his Congressional district;
Age 49, unsuccessful run for US Senate.

Thin resume? You betcha!

Then at age 51, this person had a successful run for US President.

Successful in the short AND long run? You betcha!

The man? Abraham Lincoln

Oh, and for a long resume for someone who wasn't successful, and is an example of failed presidencies, look up James Buchanan.

Just as THE ONE could never admit he was wrong about the surge, he will now refuse to accept that tax hikes in a downturn lead to more down.

his practiced ignorance extends to his transition. he ran on change and then hires all the washed-up old clinton cronies who have been peddling books from the remainder shelf waiting for this day.

his agenda dissappears from site.

to top it all off, he refuses to allow the most educated policy experts in DC - they are called lobbyists, to contribute to the effort. better to find someone who knows nothing and thinks they know everything. Just like Obama himself.

I foresee more of the same - the failure of ethanol subsidies at the hand of congress. the tampering with housing that led to disaster, by congress. the immense rise in gov't programs like medicare, NCLB etc, that are all failures.

Isn't he shooting himself in the foot by refusing the advice and support of people who lobby? There are experts at Sierra Club who could and should advise him on environmental issues, people at Public Citizen to advise him on automobile industry and consumer issues, etc. etc. Why refuse advice and support from these people just because they exercised their First Amendment rights to tell Congress to do its job?

And why restrict his "ethics" limits to people who lobby? Aren't there people who run corporations that would have a corrupting influence on his transition ... but don't themselves do any lobbying, because they pay other people to do that for them?

Does that mean the CEO of a polluting company could advise the transition team, but not Carl Pope? That a Detroit CEO could give money to the transition effort, but not Joan Claybrook?

"so when the Obamabots sink/rise down/up to the ethical level of the clintons, no one will be surprised. until the blue dress comes back from the cleaners, that is, and all the kool-aid drinkers wake up from their liberal stupor."

You need to stick to your conservative blogs and let the people with actual intelligence post here...well nevermind. It seems that intelligence is usually lacking in these boards anyways. Carry on.

""nuts" express opinions anonymously, where on the other hand real Americans present the transcript for dissemination"

A nut is a nut, no matter how the information is provided. People who take something out of context and blow it way out of proportion are imbeciles. People who use it to promote fear and hatred are just plain nutjobs. The elections are over, you can drop the whole "socialist/marxist" rhetoric now.

fei hu -
I agree with you. clinton set the standard for Democrats ethics. Obama is simply following along, as he always does.

will he be able to choose a dog without massive polling and a committeee of 300 advisors? what about all the different special interest groups? now this will be his most difficult decision ever and I don't think his little girls will be thrilled with a result of PRESENT.

so when the Obamabots sink/rise down/up to the ethical level of the clintons, no one will be surprised. until the blue dress comes back from the cleaners, that is, and all the kool-aid drinkers wake up from their liberal stupor.

That said, Obama could really show some leadership by having a somewhat low-key innauguration.

Posted by: con_crusher

-----------------------

i have to disagree. This is a HUGE celebration for African-Americans, as well as all who voted for Obama ....and an equally HUGE celebration at the departure of the worst President in American history.

We all have a need for ritual and celebration...now more than ever....and I have no doubt that the millions of us who sent in $10 and $20 donations to Obama's campaign would have no problem sending more to pay for whatever celebration is needed.

Ding dong the witch is dead!

Time to partee!...and then to work rebuilding our country from the disaster left by Bush.

That's been the very problem with the deregulation of the housing market and so on. Never assume that businessmen and politicians will do the "right" ting. You have to set rules and regulations. Why is this necessary? When they break them, they still plead ignorance or innocense.

Anyhow, this is welcome news. However, I was reading that Obama may match the $40M that W. spent on his Y2K5 innauguration. That's insanity, particularly when times are tough. Repubs talk about being fiscally responsible, then buy 7 houses worth $13M, or spend $150K on silk underwear 'n beehive hairdos. I realize that the campaign season was long and laborious. That said, Obama could really show some leadership by having a somewhat low-key innauguration.

so how far down does the country have to fall before folks consider working together; these posters rarely have that intent. I guess with so much abundance we can continue the sport of demo vs repub or whatever little camp people seem to like; if there wasn't so much at stake it would be funny; but now it's just sad.

Ethics? Obama?? HA! BTW, why hasn't he gone to Hawaii for the funeral of his supposedly beloved grandmother that allegedly passed away quite coincidentally the night before the election? Was she really not that beloved? Did she not really die? Or did she die a long time ago? Which Obama lie is it? Enquiring minds want to know...

This just after The Messiah's campaign spends the most dough in history. This guy is such a fraud it's creepy. We're going to have to learn a hard lesson here - paper thin resumes just don't make it in the long run.

If you consider that the clinton administration, whcih is pretty much what we have here in duplicate, was the most corrupt administration of modern times, with scandels and investigations almost every week, this has got to be a joke.

Ethics rules from Obama are tantamount to the Fox laying out security rules for the hen house. Does the name Tony Rezko ring a familar note? Check out the prosecution of Ted Stevens for failure to list gifts on his Senate Finance Disclosure form and then look up the flim-flam Georgian Mansion purchased by Obama with the help of the fixer now convicted slum lord Rezko and try to see a difference. The 14 thousand dollar fence between the properties is the least of it.

I want Obama to succeed for the good of my country, but hypocrisy and irony are too hard to ignore

Thank You!! President Elect Obama. Just when we were beginning to believe that Washington existed to be bought and lobbied by Big Money and Big Mouth, Obama shows us a way out. Sensibility and effective policy making should be the the rule and not subject to undue influence. We cannot afford anymore schizophrenia and distractions!!

Chris, It's interesting that British Petroleum Renewables is an ad sponsor to your site. Last week in the wake of the Obama victory, they annuonced that they would pull out of Europe to invest in the U.S. (There is much more wind in the states than in Europe) and it looks like Obama is going to be excellent for greentech. you can always check out

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."